The four tries scored in the final edged the Crusaders to 90 tries, one more than the Lions with the Waratahs back on 81 and the Hurricanes fourth on 72.

In clean breaks during the season the Waratahs were best with 276 followed by the Chiefs on 259 and the Crusaders on 254. The Lions were fifth on 208.

The Lions had most carries with 2267 followed by the Crusaders on 2196. But in metres carried the Crusaders were second on 8712 behind the Waratahs on 9218 while the Chiefs were third on 8619 and the Lions fourth on 8178.

The Lions beat most defenders with 519 while the Crusaders were second on 446.

In tackles won, the Crusaders were second on 85 percent, just behind the Sharks on 85.2 while the Lions were 12th on 82.2 percent. The Lions had the highest winning lineout percentage of 90.8, just ahead of the Bulls on 89.9 while the Crusaders were 10th on 86.5 percent.

The Crusaders were sixth-best in offloads with 157 while the Lions were 12th with 131. The Sharks were the best on 203 with the Chiefs second on 198 and the Blues third on 183.

The scrummaging statistic of success revealed an intriguing figure, the five New Zealand sides occupied the top five places with the Lions, Stormers and Reds sixth equal.

The Chiefs were best on 95 percent with the Blues on 94, the Crusaders on 93 and the Highlanders and Hurricanes equal on 92 percent. The Lions, Reds and Stormers were each on 91 percent.

In rucks won, the Crusaders and Jaguares shared first with 97 percent while the Lions, Hurricanes, Reds, Chiefs, Rebels, Sharks, Stormers, Blues, Sunwolves and Brumbies shared third with 96 percent.